I Love You, My Fair Lady
by AvalonAnonymous
Summary: Avalon runs away from home, but when she stumbles into Drossel's shop, he takes her on as an apprentice. Drossel watches Avalon grow from a young girl into a beautiful lady, a fair lady. Everything is as it is, until Avalon's childhood friend suddenly appears at the shop with a shard of the hope ring. This leaves Drossel thinking to himself, will I lose My Fair Lady?
1. Nighttime London

_**Disclaimer: I hate to say that I do not own the character Drossel Keinz (T.T)**_

_**Hey Readers! And so I thought to myself: Let's make a short love story for Drocell Keinz! The story might be have a bit of dramatic flare, but whatevs. The poor doll needs more excitement in his life anyway ;-) It's strange to admit, but this story was inspired by a song called**__** Dollhouse by Melanie Martinez. DrocellXOC fanfic coming at ya!**_

_**Rated T just in case**_

_****[Lately, fanfiction has been a pain, and has been removing my stories. So if my story was deleted from your favorites or follows, I apologize]****_

_**Enjoy :)**_

She ran. She didn't know where she was going, but she certainly wasn't going home. She was only 10 years old, and had seen things that no other 10 year old girl should've seen at her age. It was even more sickening to know that it was her own family exposing these things to her.

* * *

><p><em>"Mom?" Her childish hands pressed on her mother's shoulder. The woman was currently passed out on the couch, and a red tainted bottle hung from her fingers, "Mom? Where's dad?"<em>

_The woman on the sofa stirred, turning to face her confused daughter, "Huh?" _

_The little girl immediately stepped back, smelling the usual disgusting odor from her mother's mouth, "Where's dad?"_

_"I-I don't know and I don't care." And with that the woman turned back into the cushions and passed out again, just as her brother was entering the room. The 18 year old had his usual cigarette hanging from his teeth, and he approached his mother on the sofa._

_"What's wrong with mother?" The little girl asked._

_"She's drunk." The young man stated with no hesitation, making the girl falter._

_"Um, do know where dad is?"_

_"He's with a slut." Her brother cracked a smile. The little girl didn't know how to react. She was being spoken to in a rude way, with rude words that she never knew existed, "He's cheating on ma'." _

_"Cheating?" The little girl clenched her fists, and tears started threatening to fall. She had dealt with many events, similar to this one, but she couldn't handle it anymore._

_"Yeah. The world isn't quite pleasant anymore now is it, sis?" The young man puffed a cloud of smoke into the little girl's face, causing her threatening tears to overflow. She cried there for a moment, before dashing out the front door._

* * *

><p>The girl's name was Avalon Greene, and she was running through the nighttime streets of London, all by herself. She was scared, upset, and lonely. Her dress shoes clicked against the stone street as she ran, having no light to guide her way except the moon. Her hands repeatedly reached up to wipe the tears from her face.<p>

"I'm never going back." She whispered to herself, as her feet started to ache with exhaustion. She wasn't even sure how far she had gone, but the moon was completely overhead now. Her breath came out fast and hard, and it left white clouds in the cold winter air.

She finally stopped running, taking a moment to catch up on her breathing. But only a second after she stopped, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Oi, she a pretty one, ain't she?" She gasped in fright, and quickly turned to see two bulky men.

"She ought to have some money on 'er." The other man said, reaching out towards her body.

Avalon let out a soft whimper, for she didn't have any money. She quickly bolted away from the two, hoping it was all a bad dream, "You can't hide little girl!"

One of them yelled after her, and then their footsteps started clicking fast against the stone. She ran away as fast as she could, turning random corners out of confusion. Her tears had run out, but she was more terrified than anything at the moment. The men's footsteps started to slowly fade away, giving the young girl a spark of hope.

Then she turned a stone corner to see a small shop with the name **Angel's Wing Antiques**. She could see little dolls sitting behind the glass window, as well as other valuable antiques. The number **46 **sat above the wooden door, as well as a brightly lit lantern.

Without hesitation she bolted across the empty street, opened the door, and quickly slammed it closed behind her, leaning up against the wood as she tried to catch her breath.

"Well hello, _little girl_."


	2. Apprentice?

Avalon didn't know whether she was scared, relieved, or upset. She stared at the young man sitting infront of her. He obviously owned the shop, and he sat in a old wooden chair with his legs crossed. It looked like he hadn't moved in decades.

He was handsome, in a strange way. He had light orange hair that was cut in flares, tossed aside from his eyes, and bangs that reached his chin. His eyes were an amethyst purple and stirred emotionless. He wore blue and pink eye shadow to accentuate, as well as, below his right eye, a painted blue fleur-de-lis. His attire consisted of a blue tailcoat, gold piping, and a red ribbon tied in a bow around his neck, as well as a black top hat decorated with a red ribbon and two black feathers. He also wore short black pants, white gloves, knee high black-white striped socks, and black boots with gold buttons.

He stared at Avalon, with an emotionless expression.

"Can I help you, _My Lady?_" He spoke a monotone voice.

"Um, no. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to just barge in like this." Avalon hung her head, and clutched onto her dress's fabric.

"There is no need to apologize." He stood up, and stepped on the wooden floor, making it creak or was it himself? He eventually made it to Avalon, and bent down to be level with her face, which caused a gasp to escape her mouth, "Why is a beautiful lady like yourself crying?"

The young man pulled out a handkerchief, and handed it to Avalon, "Thank you. It was just really cold outside." She lied as she wiped the tears from her face.

"But my. I couldn't help but notice what lovely eyes you have." His gloved hand hovered over the side of her face, as Avalon's body shook with fright, "They are like deep green pools. There's so much sorrow in them." He frowned. This comment made Avalon gasp again, but this time in surprise, "You can't hide it from me. I can tell you're very sad."

Avalon could feel the tears threatening to pour out again.

"I-I-" She stuttered.

"There's no point in holding them back. Why don't you tell me what's wrong. Maybe I can help." His head cricked to one side, and Avalon let the tears stream down her face. He turned and pulled another wooden chair out of a corner, placing it to face his, and then sat back down. His long legs crossed themselves again and his hands were placed atop his knee, as Avalon slowly sat herself down as well.

"My family, they are so different now. They confuse me, and make it sound like they don't care about me anymore." Avalon sobbed, "You see, I have no where to go."

"Ah, I understand now. I-" His words were interrupted by a jingle from the door's bell.

"There she is!" Avalon jumped out of her chair to see the two familiar men.

"Please! Just leave me alone." She wiped tears from her cheeks.

"Shut yer trap." One of them reached out, and gripped onto her hair, making her yelp, but the other kind young man stood from his chair and smacked the thug's hand. The bulky man quickly let go of her hair.

"No, this won't do. That is not how you speak to a _lady._" His monotone voice said, and he placed his right gloved hand over Avalon's eyes, blocking her sight. He raised his left gloved hand and a two strands of puppet string moved outwards from his fingers, slicing through each of the men's arms. They both yelled out in pain and clutched onto their, now bloody, arms.

"Let's get out of here!" They both dashed out of the workshop, leaving Avalon and the young man alone. He gently lifted his hand off of her face, revealing her completely shocked eyes.

"You saved me." She whispered.

"It was nothing, really."

"But thank you." Avalon turned and smiled warmly at the young man. There were a few moments of silence as the tall man stared down at Avalon, "May I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Do you know if there is a place to stay around here? Like maybe a hotel or an inn." Avalon stared out at the wooden door.

"Why won't you just return home?" He asked, expressionless.

"I can't! Never. Not there. My family is dead to me now." Avalon frowned.

"So then I thought to myself, I do not believe there is such a place around here." There was even more silence.

"Well," Avalon broke the silence, "How must I repay you?"

"_Repay _me?" The man spoke as if he had never heard the word before.

"For saving my life." Avalon smiled wide, "I must give you something in return!"

"I'm afraid that I won't accept anything from a _young lady." _

"But you must! It won't be fair!" Avalon's eyes gazed around his shop, seeing dolls and antiques, "How about I become your apprentice?"

"Apprentice?"

"Yes! I could help you around the shop, and in return, you could let me sleep here! Because I am _not _going back home." Avalon looked up at the tall young man, awaiting an answer.

"So then I thought to myself, that could be arranged." His eyes were still.

"Really?! Thank you!" Avalon wrapped her small arms around the man's body, making him gasp in surprise. For he had never been hugged before in _this _lifetime, "Nice doing business with you! My name is Avalon Kathy Greene!" She smiled goofily and held out her hand.

"My name is Drossel Keinz." He lightly took the girl's hand, and she shook their conjoined hands with a laugh.


	3. A Fair Lady

And so, Drossel had acquainted his first apprentice. Avalon was perfect for the job. Surprisingly, she had gotten customers in and out of the shop. She may have been young, but her warm smile seemed to lure in guests, especially children.

She sewed dresses for dolls, while Drossel crafted them. When she wasn't sewing she was standing on a stool to reach the cash register, but soon...the stool wasn't needed anymore.

Drossel watched Avalon grow from a young girl into a beautiful young lady for 8 years. Avalon always seemed to be growing, but Drossel never did. Her childish body had grown taller and leaner, shaping into an hourglass figure. Her teeth had grown in perfectly to make an exquisite smile. Her short brown hair had grown out into long choppy layered locks that hung down her back. There was, in fact, a debate about Avalon's hair:

_"Drossel, should I cut my hair? It's getting hotter and hotter outside by the minute" Avalon laughed as she placed a doll in the window._

_"No. Your hair is lovely the way it is." Drossel stood up and pulled a small pin from his top hat. His legs creaked as he walked behind her. His fingers gently twisted her long hair into a simple bun._

_"Thank you! That solves that problem then, huh?" She smiled her gorgeous smile, while Drossel just stared at her with a blank look._

Drossel secretly admired Avalon's hair. He loved the way it looked and felt silky. But not only did he like her hair, he also loved her bright emerald green eyes, and her never ending giddy smile.

What confused Drossel, was that Avalon was so happy when she was awake, but when she was asleep, she had nightmares. Drossel didn't know of nightmares, for he had never experienced them before, but he felt slightly curious. He would hear Avalon crying, but with her eyes glued shut. He assumed she wasn't conscious at the time, and he was quite right.

Avalon was having horrible nightmares, none of which she could remember, all about her family. _It's almost as if she has a doll face, _Drossel thought, _She puts on a beautiful doll face every morning to hide her sadness._

Once, when Avalon was younger, she requested that Drossel would _snuggle_ with her when she had nightmares. Apparently her father would comfort her when she had nightmares as a child. Drossel agreed to do so, so now whenever she had a nightmare he would _snuggle _her.

"I'm going to head out for some more fabric, okay?" Avalon smiled over at Drossel who sat in his wooden chair, and painted the face of a doll. He did a slight nod of his head, and Avalon reached for a shawl, "It will only take a few minutes."

Drossel watched her exit the shop, into the nighttime streets, and there was a small jingle of the doorbell as the wooden door opened and closed.

An unfamiliar feeling struck through the puppet's body and he found himself following after Avalon, racking his brain for the feeling that permeated his entire being. _What is this unfamiliar feeling? _Even though Drossel couldn't figure out what this feeling was, he was actually incredibly worried for the girl that he knew so well._  
><em>

Meanwhile, Avalon walked through the quiet London streets, on her way to the fabric store, when all of a sudden a hand grabbed her and held her in a strong grip. She struggled and looked up to see a thug grinning down at her. Others started to surround her.

"Cute ain't she?"

"She sure is. She ought to show us a good time, eh?" The other thugs murmured in agreement.

The ragged men laughed cruelly and grabbed at Avalon's clothes, attempting to pull them off her body. She screamed out for help and shut her eyes closed, as she struggled against their tugs. More screams drowned out her own desperate cries, and she felt her arms being released. Opening her eyes, she saw the thugs on the ground, bloodied with deep, yet thin, cuts. Drossel stood before her, strings sprouting from his fingers. Avalon could see anger flashing in his eyes. The anger in Drossel's expression soon disappeared, as Avalon fainted from shock.

He quickly scooped her body into his arms, leaning in close to hear a rhythmic beat of her heart.

* * *

><p>Drossel carried Avalon all the way back to the shop, often glancing down to see if she was okay. When they finally made it back, he gently placed her in her bed, and he sat in a nearby chair and waited for her to wake. After a while, Avalon began to shake. Tears began to roll down her face, and she clutched onto her pillow. Drossel immediately knew that she was having another nightmare.<p>

He moved from the chair, placed his hat on a side table, and carefully slipped into the bed. He wrapped his arms around her, embracing her in a tight hug or a so called _snuggle. _Avalon hands gripped onto his coat and she cried into his chest, unable to escape her nightmare. He blankly stared off at the far wall, awaiting her awakening.

Finally, Avalon's eyes shot open and she let out a terrified gasp. After a few seconds she spoke, "Drossel?"

"Yes?" He answered.

"Just checking." She sighed, and clutched onto his coat tighter, "A nightmare?"

"Yes." There was a momentary silence.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"You're not human are you?"

"I'm afraid not. Someone brought that to my attention a long time ago." Drossel answered, "My master stuffed me with straw. I am nothing more than a puppet."

"Oh. Don't you have any family?"

"No." Another silence lingered through the air.

"Well, I'll always be your family." Avalon snuggled closer to Drossel, and in a few minutes she was fast asleep.

"Goodnight, My Fair Lady."


	4. Snow Day

"Have a nice day." Avalon smiled as the customer left the shop. She turned, bringing her finger to her lips, "Drossel, do you remember which doll dress was for Stephanie Adams's doll?" She let out an amused laugh, "I've forgotten!"

Drossel turned his head around 360 degrees, and looked towards Avalon as she gazed down at a table covered in doll dresses. He twisted his body around, bringing his head back to it's place, and slowly creaked to the table. His eyes scanned through the doll dresses, and they stopped on a light green one. His hand gently lifted it off the table, and held it out towards Avalon.

"Thank you! Business has been sky rocketing lately ever since December hit. Our dolls seem to be perfect Christmas presents." She smiled, taking the dress from Drossel's hands. He stared down at her, without an expression, while she bent down and grabbed a sewing needle. Drossel slowly made his way back to his chair, crossing his legs as he sat down.

"And so I've been thinking to myself," Drossel looked towards Avalon.

"Hm?"

"Isn't your 18th birthday coming up?" This made Avalon stop what she was doing. Drossel always remembered her birthday, but every time he mentioned such a word as _birthday _she froze up. He always wanted to do something for her, for he knew that humans celebrated birthdays, but Avalon never accepted anything. It was almost as if such a thing scarred her.

"I guess it is." She sighed.

The rest of their day was spent in silence, but Drossel didn't know if he liked it or not. He was so used to the silence, but he really wanted Avalon to talk and smile like she always did. There was hardly a time you would ever not see her smiling, but on the other hand, Drossel never smiled. He had forgotten how to. He didn't know how to be happy, or sad, or to feel what humans called love.

* * *

><p>Nighttime finally hit, and to their surprise, it started to snow.<p>

"Snow!" Avalon laughed and trotted over to the window, "Come here. I want to show you something." She walked over to Drossel's seat and grabbed his hand. She pulled him towards the wooden door of the shop, his body cricking as they walked. She opened the door, making the bell jingle, and pulled Drossel outside. It was slightly cold, but not completely.

"I always like to stand in the snow right as it starts falling. It's not too cold yet, but at the same time it's crisp and nice." She sighed and lifted her chin up, closing her eyes. Drossel stared at her for a moment, before lifting his own head and looking upwards. He saw nothing but a grey sky, and the small white snowflakes seemed to sparkle as they fell. The moon was no where to be found, so the only light they had was the lit lantern by the shop's door.

Drossel carefully glanced back down at Avalon, who smiled softly. Snow decorated her hair and eyelashes, giving her an angelic look.

Her eyes cracked open, "What is it?" She smiled wide.

"What is what, my lady?" Drossel cricked his head to the side in confusion.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She laughed.

But Drossel didn't understand what she meant, so he continued to stare down at her, mesmerized by her beauty. Avalon just laughed some more, before footsteps were heard in the distance. On instinct, Drossel grabbed Avalon's wrist in a soft manner, and pulled her close to him. It seemed unnecessary, but Avalon was curious to know who was running through the streets so late, so there was no way Drossel was going to drag her inside.

Eventually the footsteps got closer, and a young man came into their eyesight. Though Drossel and Avalon stood in his view, he scanned the buildings around him and looked quite confused.

"Are you okay, Sir?" Avalon gently pulled out of Drossel's grip, giving the puppet a small reassuring smile, and stepped towards the confused young man. The young man turned towards Avalon. Letting out a sigh of relief, he trotted over to her.

The man was cloaked with a long brown coat, and a white button up shirt hidden underneath. He had matching brown pants and gloves, as well as a simple pair of black shoes. Silvery blonde hair sat atop his head in a handsome way, and he had grey-green eyes. He looked about Avalon's age, but was close to a foot taller than her. He seemed to have a princely way about him.

"Oh, I'm completely fine." The man smiled softly, "But could you direct me to the nearest hotel?"

That voice. Drossel was almost sent into oblivion. He knew that voice. That deep and dark voice. _And I think to myself, that can't be him, _Drossel thought. Avalon looked back at Drossel, a hint of memory sparking at the man's question, "I'm sorry, but we don't have any kind of Inn around here." She frowned.

"That means I'll need to call Jeff. May I ask to use your telephone?" The man asked.

"Of course! Come in."


	5. That One Picture

"So why's a nobleman like you running around so late?" Avalon tried to start a conversation, as she slipped a cup of tea to their guest.

"Well," He let out a soft chuckle, politely accepting the cup of tea, "I'm usually always out late, but today I got myself lost. Today is my first day in this area, so it was definitely easy to get lost quickly."

"Yeah, If you aren't careful you'll find yourself running through endless alleyways." Avalon frowned in memory, "And there are a lot of thugs and criminals around here, so you should be careful when you're leaving."

"You are very kind." The gent smiled warmly, and pulled out a pocket watch from his coat, "I should probably get going. My partner, Jeff, should be parked out by the street." The man brushed back his blonde-white hair, and stood up, "It was nice meeting you two." He glanced between Avalon and Drossel.

"Come back anytime!" Avalon smiled wide.

"Thank you for all of your help." He gave one last grin of gratitude, before grabbing his coat and exiting the shop, leaving Drossel and Avalon alone in the shop once more. Drossel continued to stare out towards the door, letting his mind rage with thoughts, while Avalon quickly cleaned up the day's doll dresses.

"Well he was nice, huh?" She laughed, as she piled up many colorful doll gowns.

"And I think to myself," Drossel's monotone spoke, "he _was _very nice, but he sounded familiar."

"Familiar? How so?"

"I am not so sure." Drossel's eyes slowly scanned the room, eventually stopping on Avalon.

"Maybe it will come to you in the morning." She smiled.

"Maybe."

Avalon heaved a long yawn, "Well, I'm going to go to bed. See you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, My Fair Lady."

Avalon giggled slightly, "Goodnight, Drossel."

* * *

><p>The next morning was surprisingly ordinary. For some reason, Drossel was expecting something to happen that morning, something unexpected, but it <em>was <em>only the beginning of a long day. Who knew what was in store for them in the mere future.

"It's _so _pretty!" A little girl gleefully cradled her new doll.

"I'm glad you like it!" Avalon laughed from behind the counter.

"Her eyes are perfect, and the dress is wonderful!"

"Ah, but you'll have to thank Drossel for the eyes." Avalon gave the girl a wink, and nodded her head backwards, to where Drossel was always sitting. The little girl, confused at first, started to turn the counter to see him clearly.

"Thank you so much for the doll! I love it!" The girl exclaimed with an enormous smile.

Drossel, slightly surprised at the praise he had received, lightly tilted his head, "Anything for a little lady."

Avalon started laughing again. Lately, Drossel had been saying that sort of phrase, like _My Fair Lady. _Even though she found it amusing, she was every now and then upset that Drossel had never called her by her name before. But she couldn't be too disappointed. It wasn't Drossel fault that he was a doll stuffed with straw.

Not long after the little girl left, the man from the previous night walked into the shop. Avalon wasn't expecting it, but Drossel was. Something about him didn't seem right to the puppet.

"Oh! Hello again!" Avalon laughed.

"Hello!" The man kindly smiled and bent over the counter, "I've found myself in another pickle."

"Is that so?" She smirked at his words.

"Yes, and I'm quite embarrassed to admit it, but uh...do you guys know where Maple Street is? **[A/N:I know I know...Maple Street? xD] **You guys seem to know a lot about the area around you."

"Are you sure you're looking for _Maple_ Street? That road only has a broken down factory living on it." Avalon explained.

"Yep! That's it! My business is reopening that factory, so it's kinda embarrassing that I don't even know my way there." He muttered, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck.

Avalon chuckled, "You just continue down the busy street out there-" She pointed out the window, "And then after you pass a really big mansion, you take a right."

"Thank you! You're a lifesaver. Now, second order of business." He clapped his hands together, and reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a wallet, "You know how I have been out late a lot, well the reason for that is because I have been searching for someone."

"Searching?"

"Yes. We were the best of friends when I was a child, but I eventually moved away from her."

"Her?"

"Yes. Here is a picture." He finally pulled out a small piece of photo paper, and handed it to Avalon.

Her body froze. Seeing a picture of a small boy with bleach blonde hair, holding hands with a girl with short brown hair. They were both walking down a road, and they both looked over their shoulders at the camera. She knew this picture. She knew this moment.

"Her name is Avalon Greene. Have you heard of her?"


End file.
